Welch & Forbes LLC Trims Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,613 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $201.41. 120,525 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,282. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.54, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $209.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock worth $12,360,478. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LH. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).